Hope and Family
by Imaginationqueen87
Summary: Samuel has watched as every one of his children died, what if one day he learned he had a descendant still around and needed help to stay alive. What would he do to save her?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Alpha and Omega Series

Hope and Family

Bronwyn sighed as she was discharged from the hospital, she had been through this routine more times than she cared to even attempt to count over the years of her life. Infection after infection had left her in a state where the doctors weren't sure there was anything more they could do for her.

Cystic Fibrosis, that had been her diagnosis when she was just six years old. Now she wore oxygen all the time and could barely walk around without getting winded. Hope was something she had very little of at that time. She didn't want to give up but she wasn't sure there was any way she could stay alive.

John Cornick watched as his daughter's condition deteriorated by the minute. She was asleep in her bed when his father entered the room. David Cornick knew that his son was suffering as he watched his daughter die slowly before his eyes.

"I can't believe it's come to this, dad." John sighed.

"We all knew it would, John." David replied "Bronwyn's condition is terminal, it's only a matter of time before He calls her home."

"I know, dad." John sighed not wanting to hear that it was only a matter of time before his little girl died, "It's just... this is my baby girl."

Bronwyn's cough caught the attention of the two men and they went in to do what they always did when she got like that, but it was becoming less and less effective.

"Dad... is what Uncle Ben said true?" she asked.

"I don't know, what did Uncle Ben tell you?"

"He told me that... that there is something that could save me." Bronwyn said.

"I think Uncle Ben has false hope, I'm going to have to have a long talk with my cousin." John sighed.

"Dad..."

"Just rest, baby girl, we'll do whatever we have to help you." John left as Bronwyn slipped off to sleep.

David looked over Bronwyn's prone form, oxygen machine helping her just to breathe and he wondered if David realized what his cousin Ben was actually referring to.

"She'd never survive the change, I don't know what you're thinking Ben." he thought as he walked out the door himself.

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Meanwhile Samuel was just settling back into Aspen Creek. This would be the first weekend his niece, SeoHyun would spend with him and his mate, Nicolette. They had made it official just a few weeks after arriving in Aspen Creek. Much to Samuel's shock he had been Nicolette's first, she had been so focused on getting her education and her Naval life that she had barely dated anyone much less had sex with anyone.

He had set up so he had time devoted to taking care of her, easing her through the process of lovemaking. It wasn't the first time he had been with a virgin woman, as a medical professional and werewolf he had been the one to teach his wives about sex before sex education became part of the school curriculum and he had to abolish a few misconceptions from Nicolette's mind even though she was a medical professional herself. She had been nervous about it because of teachers that taught that it could be uncomfortable or even painful to have sex for the first time.

He watched as SeoHyun practiced her violin work. The violin had been a musical challenge for SeoHyun that she stepped up to and enjoyed. She always enjoyed a mental challenge and the family was more than happy to keep her young mind occupied with puzzles and other things to keep her busy and learning.

He had tried to keep track of the family of his one son that had lived long enough to die of old age but he had lost track of his descendants decades ago so he wasn't sure if they were still around or if any still carried the Cornick name.

Nicolette watched as Samuel helped SeoHyun correct her finger positioning for a particularly challenging note with the kind of patience she knew he wielded. She had experienced it first hand and appreciated it so much. She had been so nervous her first time but he had taken his time, eased her mind with his hushed tones and gentle hands. Taking his time to show her what words alone couldn't convince her, that being with him would be a wonderful experience.

Nicolette started looking into his family and the one son he had that survived to grow old and die and learned through Bran that the man had fathered several children of his own who then had their own children and so on down the line but they had lost track of the only remaining family that still carried the Cornick name during World War II and had not been able to locate them sense.

Bran had tracked the family down and learned of their desire to learn if it was true that they were related to the famous Marrok. A few of them had successfully made the change from human to werewolf but there was a pressing time limit on their search. One of the few children in that particular family was dying and it was her wish to know if they were related to him.

He had been trying to talk them into coming up to Aspen Creek to see if anything could be done for her or, worst case scenario, he could successfully cure her with the change. If she didn't survive it would be a more merciful death than wasting away with Cystic Fibrosis, though it would be up to her to try the change or not.

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John sighed, he was against taking his daughter to Aspen Creek until he was told that if there was anything they wanted her to see before she died they needed to do it now that there wasn't much time left at all.

He contacted Bran and told him of this development and Bran informed him that he should pack and report to the private airstrip at a certain time that his son, Charles was going to stop there on his way back to Aspen Creek from a job in Florida dealing with a problem in the Everglades pack. He wasn't sure about this but he and his wife showed up dutifully, bags packed and Bronwyn ready for the trip.

He watched as the tall Native American man exited the Leer Jet, a small brunette woman trailing behind him.

"Charles Cornick," John said though it was more of a question than a statement.

"Yes, this is my wife, Anna." He said introducing.

"I'm John, this is my wife Michelle and our daughter, Bronwyn."

Charles could sense the disease on her as he approached her he knew she wasn't long for this world if something wasn't done. She had fought her whole life and he knew it was only because of her dominant spirit that she made it to seventeen years old. He knew that his father usually made candidates for the change wait until they were at least eighteen to attempt the change, he was going to make an exception for Bronwyn because it didn't look like she would live to see eighteen without some sort of miracle.

He picked up Bronwyn and they boarded the leer. Bran had already had a private lab analyze his DNA and compare it to John's. They found too many markers in common for mere coincidence, they were related. He hadn't told Samuel yet as he knew how bad Bronwyn's condition was. He was unaware that Samuel's mate had learned of this and told Samuel. The door to his office slammed open.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

"When were you going to tell me she was mine?" Samuel demanded any thought of who he was talking to forgotten for the fact that he had family he didn't know about.

"Samuel calm yourself down, I was going to inform you in mere minutes, I thought I had more time to ease this on you but... Son you need to sit down this is not something you are going to want to hear, but I think it's best you know before they arrive."

Samuel was confused but he did as his father instructed.

"Samuel, the girl, Bronwyn is dying of Cystic Fibrosis. Your brother is bringing her here for you to look at. Charles contacted me and told me she wants to attempt the change" Bran explained his eyes soft. He knew this news was hard on Samuel, he had lost so many children over the years to hear that Bronwyn was dying as well cut deep.

Samuel's heart shattered on the floor at those words and he was glad he had done has his father instructed and sat in the chair as he wasn't sure his knees would have supported his weight after that bit of news.

"C... Can I go with you to the airstrip to see her?" Samuel asked hating the hitch in his voice.

"Yes you may." Bran replied "I'm not going to keep you from her."

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Bronwyn was half asleep when she felt a man's arms lift her from her seat. Some time during the flight she had fallen asleep against the window of the Learjet and no one woke her up until whoever this was picked her up.

"Winnie calm down sweetheart, it's okay, he's a friend" Bronwyn heard her father say and she quit trying to struggle and started to catch her breath.

"This is bad," she heard the man say as he carried her and the portable oxygen concentrator out of the jet. She looked around at the airstrip and was soon placed in the backseat of a humvee.

"Yes, Samuel, it is." Bran agreed the smell of infection and pain hit the two old werewolves.

It didn't take long to get to the clinic and Samuel began to look Bronwyn over. The more tests he ran the worse it looked for her until the change seemed to be her last hope of survival.

Bran was explaining to Bronwyn's parents what the change entailed and that if she survived the change she would be cured of the disease that was killing her.

"This is her choice, yes the odds of surviving the change aren't great but they are far better than her current odds of survival." John admitted.

"Would we have to watch as she is changed?" Michelle asked.

"No, you can sign a document saying someone else can stand in as proxy for you, one of my sons for example." Bran replied "I will administer the change myself."

"I will be in there with her, I won't let her face this with only strangers for support." John said.

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Bronwyn looked Samuel over as he worked to give her something that would at least make her comfortable. She was just learning of their relationship to each other and was shocked at how many traits had carried through the generations to show up in her. They both had the same brown hair and blue eyes.

"Are you sure you want to try this?" Samuel asked after she told him she had decided to attempt the change.

"Yes, either it takes and I get to know what its like to not have this crap or I don't survive and I get the mercy of a quick death. Either way its better than what I have now." Bronwyn sighed. "My family won't have to watch me wither away."

Samuel hated to admit it but he knew Bronwyn was right. In her case no matter the outcome of the change it would be better than the fate she was facing with CF.

He looked up as SeoHyun peeked into the room.

"I thought your mom was picking you up, SeoHyun." Samuel said.

"She is taking to grandda about something." SeoHyun replied she then noticed the other teenager. "Hi, I'm SeoHyun Lee-Cornick." She said

"I'm Bronwyn Cornick, its good to meet you, SeoHyun." Bronwyn replied weakly.

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SeoHyun didn't say anything about the scent of pain and infection that rolled off Bronwyn in waves. She could see she was sick and hoped her Uncle Samuel could make her better.

Samuel didn't tell SeoHyun what Bronwyn was going to do in the hope of not building false hope in SeoHyun that Bronwyn would survive. He didn't want to hurt his niece any more than he had to, he loved SeoHyun and like most of the pack he wanted to protect her from harm in any way he could, be it physical pain or mental anguish.

"It's good to meet you too, Bronwyn." SeoHyun smiled gently. Samuel didn't have to tell her Bronwyn was severely ill it was obvious and SeoHyun wondered why she was at the clinic and not one of the major hospitals either in Missoula or Kalispell.

She said goodbye as Anna came to take her home, she knew her father wouldn't be home until later that evening due to something Bran hadn't seen fit to tell her. While she didn't like the secrecy of it all she wasn't going to argue with her alpha to attempt to get him to tell her what he was hiding either.

"That your niece?" Bronwyn said.

"Yes," Samuel smiled.

"She's cute, is she adopted?"

"Yeah, long sad story, but she's doing well here" Samuel sighed.

Bronwyn's eyes drooped tiredly.

"Get some sleep, Bronwyn, we're not going to attempt the change until tomorrow given how late it is now." Samuel told her gently.

"Okay," Bronwyn sighed "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Samuel left the room silently praying that Bronwyn would survive the night and survive the change. He knew it was selfish to want to hold onto Bronwyn but she was his granddaughter and he wanted to know her.

"How is she?" Bran asked.

"It's bad, Da, but then again when you said Cystic Fibrosis I knew it would be bad, but I... I never thought it would be this bad. She's not even twenty and she's at the point where if it weren't for the change I'd be trying to just make her comfortable until she passed away."

Bran gave a weak sigh. He couldn't believe her condition was that bad. She was so young and had so much potential that was at risk if she didn't survive.

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Bronwyn woke the next morning to see Bran sitting there waiting for her to awaken.

"Bran, what brings you here?" she asked sitting up in bed to the best of her ability. Bran used the control on the adjustable bed to raise her head so she was supported as she sat up.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into before we tried to change you." He replied as he sat the remote near her hand so she could further adjust the bed until she was comfortable.

She looked at him and sighed "I guess I understand it as well as anyone in my position can."

Bran gave her the test out loud and she passed it. As much as he didn't like this it was time to turn her. He left to make final preparations and Samuel came in to get her ready.

"You realize this is going to be the most painful experience of your life." He warned her.

"I know, but I'm in pain all the time, Samuel." She replied "This is my last hope of a life free of pain."

"I know, Bronwyn, I know this better than anyone else you'll meet." He replied.

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John watched as Bronwyn was brought into the room where she would face ravishment to attempt the change. Michelle couldn't stand it and in his heart he understood why she felt that way. This was their daughter that was about to risk her life to finally know normal; finally be able to live her life without endless trips to the hospital for lung infections and respiratory problems. She wouldn't need the medicine and oxygen any longer, live or die she would finally be free. If she lived she would be healthy and happy. If she died she would be in a place without pain, beyond the disease that cursed her time on this world.

A grey and white wolf entered that he learned was Bran Cornick and within moments the attack began. It was brutal and John could barely watch the pain and horror his daughter was being exposed to, but it didn't matter anymore she would be free.

After the attack Samuel swooped in while his father left to transform back to human. John turned to Charles trying to see if the Marrok's younger son could shed any light on the situation or give him any hope that he hadn't just seen his daughter be killed.

Samuel approached them as she was returned to the clinic quickly along with a woman that John didn't recognize but would later learn was Samuel's wife, Nicolette.

"By the looks of it she will become one of us if she survives. The next few hours will be critical to learning if she will survive or not." He informed them then followed those that took Bronwyn out to the clinic to monitor her healing and support her as she healed.

The hours dragged on as Samuel helped her stay alive for the healing process. Anna arrived a few hours later hoping her omega powers would help Bronwyn keep control and calm.

Bronwyn woke up feeling as if she had been ripped to shreds. Samuel hadn't been kidding when he said it would be the most painful thing she had ever felt.

"Easy, Bronwyn," an unfamiliar female said. "My name is Anna, I'm Samuel's sister-in-law."

"Hi..." Bronwyn said weakly.

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John and Michelle watched as Bronwyn woke up, spoke with Anna then passed out again. They had been assured that she might do this a time or two before she wakes up for good and even then she would need time to regain her strength.

Every time she woke Samuel did his best to get her to eat at least a little food before she fell asleep again and by evening she was fully healed and begging to learn control. This was a good sign and the protective reaction to when SeoHyun returned into the picture the next morning was a mixed sign. It was good that she was capable of moving around, but bad that she was losing out to her instincts a little too much.

Charles had easily put a stop to that and soon explained to her why she reacted the way she did to SeoHyun and why it was best she try to control that reaction. SeoHyun's submissive nature aroused Bronwyn's protective instinct and while protective was good she needed to be careful she didn't lose control because of it.

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Bronwyn joined the Marrok pack pretty quickly after she was changed and she quickly began to gain control. It was decided that until they knew it was safe for her to live with her parents that she would live with Samuel and Nicolette as they were family. She enjoyed spending time with them and learning about her heritage from Samuel and Bran. She could spend hours with Bran listening to the old bard tell stories of a time before there was even electricity and he was more than happy to appease her. Normally old wolves didn't like to speak of the past, often wouldn't even admit to their age depending on how old the wolf was. Bran was no exception, but he would often humor young wolves by telling them tales of times before they could even imagine.

She had also started forming a friendship with SeoHyun and Kara. She liked the two younger girls and did her best to protect them from harm. She was more dominant than Kara so Kara willingly submitted control and responsibility to Bronwyn who quickly learned that she shouldn't take the fact that they trusted her lightly. They needed her to uphold her instincts to protect them and nurture them to the best of her ability, especially SeoHyun who was extremely submissive and had horrible self-esteem. She needed to be looked after, needed reassured that those in power would not harm her as had happened in the past. She was abused and broken of the habit of trusting dominant wolves long before the habit could have been ingrained in her mind. She was learning quickly that the dominant wolves of Aspen Creek would care for her, she was the heart of her family, heart of her pack and there wasn't a wolf around that would ever do anything but support and love on her.

To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Controlling her wolf was a challenge that she had not been prepared for, at first it had been extremely hard but with Samuel around to teach her it soon became easier and easier to do. By her fourth full moon she had full control of her werewolf. She had showed steady progress so no one worried about how long it was taking. They knew it was because of how dominant she was.

Bronwyn worried about SeoHyun and her self-esteem. She knew the pack was trying to help boost her confidence with compliments and praise and those things helped but Bronwyn had a bad feeling SeoHyun didn't have a good opinion of her appearance, didn't believe she was anywhere near as pretty as she really was.

She sighed as she walked towards the spring fed lake where she, Kara and SeoHyun often met. Kara was working on extra homework in hopes of graduating with SeoHyun so it would be just Bronwyn and SeoHyun. She got closer and heard the younger girl singing in a language Bronwyn had never heard before and could only assume was Korean. The tone of the song wasn't what Bronwyn would consider happy but with the language barrier she couldn't be certain then she abruptly switched to singing in English and the sad, self-deprecating words broke Bronwyn's heart. She wondered if Charles had ever heard this piece and if he had, did he ever pay attention to exactly what SeoHyun was saying. Would he have demanded a translation of all of the lyrics of this song? Would he have sought more help for her if he knew exactly what she thought of herself? How bad her self-image was? She didn't know but she hoped to God he would as much as it seemed that he loved her. She came out of her hiding place as the song ended.

"That is a beautiful song, SeoHyun, did you write it?" She asked.

"Yes," SeoHyun replied self-consciously. She had done her best not to ever sing that piece where others could hear it because she didn't feel like going into a detailed explanation about what the song meant and why she ever wrote something with such a self-derogatory tone.

"Please don't tell my Da about this song… I don't want to have to explain it to him." She all but begged.

"SeoHyun, if he doesn't know how you feel he can't help you get passed it." Bronwyn said.

"Bronwyn please… don't tell him or mom about it… they do so much for me already I don't want to be more of a burden to them." SeoHyun was desperate to keep this song a secret.

SeoHyun's pleas had Bronwyn very concerned about her, why was she so intent on her parents not finding out that this song ever existed?

"You need to let him hear it, need to give him every word so he can help you find a way to deal with the pain, the things that inspired you to write this song." Bronwyn insisted. She couldn't understand why SeoHyun was so intent on keeping this a secret.

"You're probably right, but… I don't… I can't do that… I can't…"

Bronwyn hugged SeoHyun as she began to cry, her heart breaking for the younger girl she held in her arms. SeoHyun was in such a vulnerable place in her life which made it even harder for Bronwyn to understand why she wouldn't go to her parents for comfort and reassurance.

They split up that evening and Bronwyn couldn't quit thinking of the words SeoHyun had sung, the ones she understood and wondering what the ones were that she couldn't understand. How bad was SeoHyun's self-esteem? Was she contemplating suicide? Bronwyn wasn't sure why her brain jumped to the horrible thought of SeoHyun attempting to end her own life but it did.

She nearly ran into Bran on her way home and apologized profusely.

"Bronwyn what's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Nothing, I'm fine" she lied.

"Bronwyn, lying to a werewolf isn't a good idea." He said.

"I'm worried… but I can't tell you why." She said "I sort of made a promise to this person."

"Worried about who, or can you not tell me that either?" he asked. What she had said was the truth as far as it went but it still upset Bran to think there was a reason for a member of his pack to be as scared as Bronwyn was about another pack member.

"I promised I wouldn't…" she then thought about it "It feels underhanded but I need to tell someone about this. I promised I wouldn't tell Charles or Anna but I assume I can tell you and you can do with the knowledge what you see fit."

"Come to my home, we will talk in my office." Bran said.

They arrived in his office and sat around the fireplace and she told him about the song she heard SeoHyun singing in the clearing and her sudden, and she hoped irrational, fear that SeoHyun would end her own life.

"Bronwyn this is a very valid concern that Charles and Anna need to know about. I know you promised SeoHyun you wouldn't tell and don't want to lose her confidence but if you have the slightest suspicion that she is self-injuring or worse contemplating suicide, her parents need to be aware so they can get her help." Bran said clearly worried by the whole prospect that this was happening and he wasn't aware of it. "I will bring your concerns to Charles' attention myself so you can honestly tell SeoHyun you upheld your word to her. She can tell if you lie to her; so it's best that we keep it so you can truthfully say you didn't tell Charles of this, I did. She can get angry at me all she wants but it's my job as her alpha and her grandfather to see to her wellbeing."

"Okay, Bran." Bronwyn sighed "I still feel like I betrayed her trust telling you."

"Don't feel bad, in this situation I needed to be aware of what she is going through so we can extend help to her."

Bronwyn was shocked when Charles entered the office as she left. She assumed Bran summoned him mind to mind in order to get him there so quickly. She said a prayer that she hadn't just ruined her friendship with SeoHyun and, by extension, Kara as she left to go home for the night. She wasn't sure she would be able to sleep but she had to try there were big tests the next morning.

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Bronwyn sighed as she walked through the halls of Aspen Creek School. It didn't take a genius to figure out that SeoHyun was avoiding her, nor did it take much to put two and two together in order to figure out why the younger girl was avoiding her. She thought Bronwyn had betrayed her and told her parents about her song. Bronwyn had learned early on that SeoHyun had not been self-injuring or contemplating taking her own life which relieved her immensely but it still left her with the backlash of telling Bran about the song.

Charles had insisted on hearing the song from SeoHyun herself and having her translate it for him to see exactly what he was dealing with.

Bronwyn walked up and grabbed SeoHyun by the elbow gently "I didn't say a word to your father about the song."

"No but you just had to run to my grandfather didn't you?" SeoHyun snapped angrily "he went to mom and Da and they came to me about it."

"SeoHyun, your father needed to know," Bronwyn replied

"But it wasn't your place to tell him!"

"SeoHyun please I was only worried about you, I was scared for you I couldn't keep it a secret when I thought you were going to dive head first into the lake or something." Bronwyn said

Bronwyn's words stopped SeoHyun cold.

"You… you really were scared… you thought I was going to kill myself… I… I would never do that…" SeoHyun said her expression softening considerably "I might have back when I lived in San Diego but… but now I have too much to live for."

"That's good to hear" Bronwyn replied, "But still; if your parents don't know something is wrong with you they can't help you make it better."

SeoHyun listened to what Bronwyn was saying and looked down submissively.

"You're right, I should have let them know what was going on when it started, not let it fester as long as it has." she sighed.

"Yeah, but SeoHyun, it's okay now", Bronwyn hugged the older girl.

"You were open with them and they know you need help and support." Bronwyn told her "They can help you get through this."

SeoHyun nodded and returned the embrace. It felt good to know Bronwyn cared about her.

They split for class and SeoHyun smiled as she entered home economics class. They had a big cooking test that day. Most of the kids were nervous but for some reason SeoHyun felt confident in her ability to pass. She took her seat to wait for class to begin, the smell of raw meat making her wolf hungry and unusually hard to control. She would have to talk to her Da about this when she got home. It wasn't uncommon for this to happen, if anything she was taught to expect it when she was handling raw meat, but she kept herself in check, she knew her classmates knew what she was, she just didn't want to weird them out by flaunting it in their faces by chowing down on raw meat.

They finished the test and SeoHyun passed, but then, in this class she was infamous for wrecking any curb she was graded on. This tended to irritate her classmates to no ends given that some of them struggled in this particular class.

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Bronwyn's morning was a snooze fest for her. She hated that she had no classes with SeoHyun or Kara but given all three girls were in different grades the fact that they had no schedule overlap was expected. Bronwyn was the oldest then SeoHyun then Kara and she would often take responsibility for the younger two as the most dominant and their elder. They accepted this without question or their wolves did and the girls went along for the ride. SeoHyun was very timid, Kara was a prankster at heart but she still respected Bronwyn as an authority figure.

Kara had confided in her that she worried that SeoHyun might get taken advantage of because of her reticent nature.

Bronwyn blew a stray hair out of her face, this history lecture was boring as ever.. The lecture was over things she had gone over weeks ago while homeschooling before her health took a turn for the worst. She got out and felt distress over the pack bond from SeoHyun and started towards her, the need to save her overwhelming her.

To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

She got there to see that a senior boy had SeoHyun pinned against a locker by the throat and she could hear her choking in his hold. This was more than she could stand, SeoHyun never did anything to provoke this sort of an attack from anybody, she was far too mild mannered and timid for that sort of thing. It was why Bronwyn and Kara were so driven to keep her safe from harm; they always feared she wouldn't stand up for herself if she was attacked.

"Let her go!" Bronwyn growled.

"Why should I?" He asked casually.

"Dude you should do what she said. Do you know who her dad is?" the boy's friend Joseph asked incredulously.

"No..."

"It's Charles Cornick; he'll skin you alive for hurting her."

"No he won't..." The boy, Andrew, didn't sound so sure of this.

"That is if she doesn't first." Joseph said shakily as Bronwyn snarled at them in rage. She needed more work on control and she knew it but right now all she could think of was protecting SeoHyun from the very real threat this boy posed to her.

Andrew realized something wasn't right and let SeoHyun go.

Bronwyn calmed down as SeoHyun took refuge behind her and it was only when an older, more dominant wolf that taught at the school joined them did Bronwyn calm down.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"I came around the corner to find this jerk holding SeoHyun up by her throat." Bronwyn said.

"Andrew is this true?" the teacher, Owen Grayson asked.

"Yes sir," Andrew replied.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Owen asked.

Andrew remained silent as if he didn't feel the need to justify his actions which gave an indication that perhaps he was raciest against werewolves, not Asian people, but Joseph wasn't sure.

"I told him not to mess with her," Joseph said "he should know who her family is, but he insisted on being a racist jerk. I don't know what set this off, I'm not sure if it's because she's Korean or a werewolf, either way it isn't right and he ought to know that!"

Andrew glared at Joseph and it was clear that their friendship was coming to an abrupt and spectacular end.

"Andrew that was stupid, not only is racism in general idiotic and something that will bring your dad on you hard core, but you had to pick a Cornick to go against? I knew you weren't the brightest crayon but this… this is a whole new level of idiotic. How would your grandfather react if he learned you were discriminating against your werewolf classmates?" Joseph said and walked over to Bronwyn and SeoHyun leaving Andrew to gawk at his reaction to what had just happened.

"Bronwyn…" Owen scolded as Bronwyn began to growl at Joseph.

"SeoHyun, I am so sorry for my friend's foolishness, can you… can you forgive me for my involvement?" Joseph asked taking the unnecessary step to bow apologetically trying to appease to her culturally.

SeoHyun watched him, the bow wasn't mocking when he bowed; he was being genuinely respectful of her and her cultural heritage.

"I can forgive you, and really I never expected you to bow, but… thank you for trying to be a little more culturally sensitive than Andrew." She returned the bow, the bruises on her neck quickly fading away.

Owen called Bran who checked both Bronwyn and SeoHyun out of school, handing SeoHyun to Charles to care for as soon as he arrived then taking Bronwyn to his own home for a long talk.

"It seems we put you into that scenario a bit too soon." Bran said to Bronwyn.

"No, it's not that… I just… I can't believe that jerk bullied SeoHyun, she would never hurt anyone." Bronwyn said from her seat in the Humvee.

Bran sighed as he listened to Bronwyn talk, he knew she was right for the most part, had no one put a hand on SeoHyun he wouldn't have seen that she had minor issues that needed addressed.

"You're right, but Bronwyn you need to get better control over your wolf, those boys seemed to think you might really harm one of them." He said.

"I just want to keep SeoHyun safe, she has been through so much already." Bronwyn sighed.

"We all do, Bronwyn, SeoHyun suffered at the hands of wolves that should have cared for her. She is submissive meaning we should want to coddle her. We should want to put her in a bubble and protect her from all harm and we have to face the fact that we can't do that, as much as we wants to shield her from pain, she has to be allowed to live meaning she will get hurt from time to time." He sighed "She is a dreamer, our SeoHyun, she wants to own a business, make cakes and cupcakes to please the masses. She's good at baking she could really pull this off, her only problem is her self-esteem; she doesn't see how beautiful she is. It's sad really to hear her talk about herself and what she thinks of her own appearance because she just doesn't see what others see in her."

Bran knew that Bronwyn didn't need told exactly how bad the situation was she had heard the song SeoHyun wrote, she saw the translation and gasped along with everyone else as they looked at the words that were so self-derogatory that they weren't sure what to make of them much less how to help SeoHyun get over the problems she had with her self-image and self-worth. It also reassured them that she was in no danger of taking a walk into a local river in an attempt to end her own life. She had a lust for life she hadn't had in San Diego. Aspen Creek was good for her and she seemed to heal by leaps and bounds, the question was would she hold onto the progress she had made in Aspen Creek once she left the town to seek a college education.

To Be Continued…


	7. Chapter 7

A week passed and it seemed they were making slow progress with SeoHyun's esteem issues. They knew changing the way she thought of herself and her appearance wouldn't happen overnight but they were willing to give her all the time it took to get her better.

Bronwyn walked alone to a little clearing she had found early on in her time in Aspen Creek, today was always a bad day for her family and this year was no exception.

Bran followed her at a discreet distance, doing his best to keep undetected, he had to know what was going on, he was the alpha and it was his job to take care of his wolves no matter what. He didn't understand what was bothering her, she seemed to have a great life in Aspen Creek but something was obviously bothering her and he wanted to know what it was.

"15 long years and we still don't know where you are, Hannah, are you even still alive?" she sighed "Your parents got divorced after you disappeared , they couldn't handle the not knowing what happened to you… your mom is trying her best to stay strong but it still weighs on her what happened to you." Bronwyn said

Bran was stunned who was "Hannah?" What happened to her? Apparently she was one of the thousands of people that went missing every year.

Bran said a silent prayer; he didn't know who Hannah was but if she was alive she needed to come home.

Bran left; Bronwyn never aware of his presence and went to talk to John.

"Bran is everything okay?" John asked as they all sat around the table drinking hot tea.

"I wanted to know what was wrong with Bronwyn… but is seems that Bronwyn isn't the only one upset." Bran said.

"When she was really young her infant cousin, Hannah disappeared from her mother's car. They turned their backs for a minute turned back around and their baby was gone, the straps of her car seat were cut so they could get her out quickly." John explained "To this day we don't know what happened to her."

"Our niece was a beautiful baby girl, beautiful brown curls, eyes the color of emeralds." John sighed trying his best to keep the tears at bay. "Her mom told us her dad had two older sons from a previous relationship, they would be in their late twenties where Hannah would be about fifteen or sixteen years old. Her mom wouldn't be able to take her even if we did find her she just wants to find her."

"They figure if she is ever found custody might go to her older brother on her father's side, they say he's doing well for himself as o college professor in California." Michelle sighed "We don't know who the man is much less if we would ever get to see her if he did take custody of her. She wouldn't know any of us we've made peace with that fact a decade ago, she was only 6 months old when she vanished. We don't even know if the brother ever knew of her much less knows what happened to Hannah.

"I am terribly sorry, Michelle, if there is anything I can do just let me know. I wish we had some idea what she looked like or where to begin to look I would have any pack in the area searching for her."

"They're probably long gone from where she was born, if she's even still alive, they said the odds of us finding anything other than a skeleton are slim to none." John sighed "But my sister hasn't given up hope that they will find her daughter alive. I don't know how she does it, how she can keep up the hope after all of these years. She diligently keeps that porch light on every night in hopes Hannah will somehow find her way back home to her, but… but time isn't on our side. She isn't well, Bran, we said the change could cure her but… but she is losing hope, she's saying if her daughter is dead she would just join her. She isn't going to kill herself but she's tired of fighting the cancer, tired of the pain she's been in."

Bran nodded "If you or your family need anything, just let me know, I don't care how trivial you think it is!" his tone left no room for argument, it was clear that he wanted to help them, wanted to see that they were cared for.

"Thank you, Bran," John said.

"No problem." Bran replied.

* * *

Bronwyn was shocked when Bran summoned her to come to his home. She had no idea what was going on. Had she done something wrong? She didn't remember breaking any rules to warrant her alpha's intervention, so what was going on?

She was shocked when Bran mentioned Hannah, nobody had told him about her because they knew how he would react to that information.

"Bronwyn, I understand why you didn't say anything about this; it can't be easy to try and understand what happened to your cousin or why it happened. It was senseless and I don't know if we will ever understand it." Bran said "I will do whatever I can to help your family; I can't possibly imagine what it's like to not know for this long."

"It's been so stressful for our entire family, we want to know what happened to her, but nobody has any answers and it seems everyone has given up trying to find her." Bronwyn admitted.

Bronwyn jumped as Charles entered the room.

"If I can get a picture of her I can have an age progressed photo created so maybe we will have some chance of finding her." Charles said.

"You can do that?" Bronwyn said in surprise.

"She's one of ours, but even if she wasn't your family deserves to know what happened to her." Charles said.

"Thank you" Bronwyn said.

Charles got the picture from Bronwyn's parents and by that Saturday he had a picture of what Hannah would look like at sixteen years old.

"I can't believe it, she's beautiful." Michelle said as she held the picture in her hands. She couldn't believe that it was possible to make a picture of Hannah as she would look if she were alive.

"Maybe… maybe this will help us finally learn what happened to her." John said as Charles sent it to the pack alphas. It had already been given to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children so they could update their registry with the age-progressed photo.

Time passed and it seemed like what they had done had been in vain. Two months passed and it seemed that hope had worn dry; then a call from San Francisco shocked them to the core.

To Be Continued…


	8. Chapter 8

Everyone had been stunned when word came from San Francisco that Hannah had been found after all these years. She had been illegally put up for adoption and a family took her in. They had given her the best they could; including years of figure skating lessons to the point that she was considered an Olympic hopeful. They also learned that the local pack alpha was her half-brother who happily took her in as his sister.

"I can't believe she's alive, after all these years!" Bronwyn said in surprise. For years it seemed like they were foolish to hope that Hannah was still alive, it felt like they would never know what happened to her, but this reinforced their commitment to finding her and that their hope wasn't in vain.

"Yes… they found her, the administrative staff working a regional figure skating competition in Texas saw her picture and recognized her as she was registering for the regional championships and called the police. It was learned that it was her. She was illegally put up for adoption by persons unknown. She's beautiful, just like the picture Charles created. This has been a hard transition for her, and her brother is doing his best to help her cope with what has happened. He is a good man and will take care of her. He says he will bring her this summer to meet us, he promises he won't keep us out of her life given that we are her family as well." Michelle told Bronwyn "Her mother got to see her but explained to the brother she was not in a place to care for Hannah… Charlotte, she has a new name as well, that's what made it even harder to find her, they changed her name to Charlotte, that's the only name she's ever gone by so her mother and brother have agreed to let her keep that name."

"So will I get to meet her, Mom?" Bronwyn asked. She was eager to see what Charlotte was like, she didn't remember ever knowing Charlotte before the capture not that she would have anything to indicate what she would be like now from when she was an infant.

"Yes, eventually, she has been through a lot though, it's going to take a lot of time for her to recover from the betrayals that she's been through." Michelle explained.

"Okay, mom," Bronwyn sighed but the fact that she had hope to see her cousin satisfied her. She could understand not wanting to bombard Charlotte with relatives when she was just trying to digest the fact that she had been illegally adopted.

The next full moon rolled around and Bronwyn looked out over Aspen Creek with a smile on her face, she never dreamed she would love a small town as much as she loved Aspen Creek, it gave her a chance at life that her disease had robbed her of. She gave a delighted howl and felt warmed and safe when her grandfather and uncle's voices joined her song.

 **The End**


End file.
